In Sree Padmanabhaswamy treasure temple, security is paramount

For centuries it towered above the cityscape, almost merging with the skyline and the region's cultural ethos. But in the last one-and-a-half years the gopuram or the ornate tower of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple has come to symbolise a collective feeling of goodwill and romance for the fairytale-like twist to the temple's history, its all-powerful deity and the treasure that he guards.

The story of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple at Thiruvananthapuram took a dramatic turn as the news about its vast riches leaked to the outside world a year ago. "The temple, its rites and rituals, and even its timings are the same," says Parameswaran Nair, acting secretary of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trust that looks after the temple's affairs and is run by the erstwhile royal family of Travancore (a kingdom that encompassed the southern part of modern day Kerala). But everything else has changed, a fact that is evident from the rising flow of visitors to the temple.

TRAVAILS OF TREASURE :

Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple is one of the 108 holy shrines of Lord Vishnu known as Divyadesam. The temple made headlines after a Supreme Court-appointed committee started inventory assessment of its secret vaults after prolonged litigation between a complainant and the royal family.

A huge cache of gold, precious stones, jewellery, rare coins and idols was discovered in six underground cellars of the temple. The rough estimate of the value of the treasure was around .`1 lakh crore making it probably the richest temple in India.

But those who are close to the temple administration point out that the precious items are not part of any treasure but the accumulated offerings made by the erstwhile royal family and other neighbouring kingdoms to the deity. After the news of the treasure leaked, the temple has been converted into a virtual fortress. But the elaborate security arrangement that the government has provided in the temple as per the Supreme Court's directive has not deterred pilgrims.

"They have to pass through metal detectors and are frisked by police," says N Vijayakumar, deputy commissioner of police in charge of the security arrangements. Earlier, that is, before the temple's riches were found, the daily inflow of pilgrims was around 500 to 1,000.

But today, the number has gone up to 5,000 to 10,000 pilgrims. Most new visitors to the temple are from the other three South Indian states though a few are from the northern parts of the country. The police have installed more than 50 CCTV cameras in the temple, a sprawling 30 to 35-acre complex with four entrances.

On all four entrances, armed commandos stand guard. Vehicles have to stop at a police barricade about 50 metre away from the entrance. "An area of around 100 metre around the temple has been declared as a security zone," says Vijayakumar.

A video-wall directly opposite his seat displays the pictures taken by the CCTV cameras. Add to this the scores of cops in plain clothes milling around inside and out side the temple campus.

Every house, shop, hotel and lodge within this perimeter has been surveyed and its occupants identified. Hotels and lodges are to furnish information about the people who are staying there while the residents have to inform about their guests and other casual visitors to their house.

A REVENGE BOOST:

"The voluntary offerings of those who visit the temple were its only revenue till a decade ago," says EK Harikumar, executive officer of the temple. The annual revenues were around .`1 crore while the expenditure was slightly higher still, thanks to the painfully elaborate rituals the temple follows.

"The difference was usually met from the contribution from the royal palace," he says. Today, the temple rakes in Rs 7 crore per year from just visitors. Meanwhile, in its office inside the temple complex, a Supreme Court-appointed committee is busy preparing its report on the inventory assessment of the treasure. The head of the committee, Dr MV Nair, says the work is in progress.

The committee works in such away that the temple rituals and practices are not affected. "We are not arriving at any value estimate; we are only documenting it," he says.

SECURITY STEPPED UP:

The government has already implemented a Rs 9-crore plan for providing security to the temple. In the second and third phases, modern and hi-tech equipment would be installed, including electronic gates, scanners, Xray machines, baggage checking units and automatic bollard checks with remote control. The expenditure earmarked for the second phase is Rs 10 crore.

In the third phase, more equipment like radars, underground scanners and biometric scanners will be installed. Yet, some customs will hardly change. Every morning, at 7.45 am, a palace car pulls up before the temple.

Uthradam Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the oldest surviving member of the erstwhile Travancore royal family, gets out and heads for the temple, continuing a tradition that's been synonymous with the temple for the denizens of Kerala's capital.